Twitter Lists are the new feature on Twitter (still in Beta) that allow you to organize particular Twitter users into lists and view only their Tweets. For example, you can create a list of inspirational Twitter users by following these easy steps:
How to Create a New Twitter List
During the beta period, you should see an announcement for Twitter lists at the top of your homepage. Click the “Create a New List” button.
Alternatively, you can click on the “New List” link in your sidebar, right above the Trending Topics section.
Choose a name for your Twitter list, and whether you would like it to be public (so that others can follow your list) or private (a list for only you to see). Choosing a public list will also let the Twitter members you add to that list know that they are being listed, whereas they will never know if they are in a private list.
Once you have set your list name and privacy, you can begin adding members to your list. You have the option to search for members based on their real name, username or brand on the following screen. You can add any Twitter user’s to your list, regardless of whether or not you are following them, with exception to user’s you are not following whose Tweets are private.
You can also add users by going to their profile and clicking on the Lists dropdown, then select the list you would like to add them to or create a new one.
Finding and Following Public Twitter Lists
On each Twitter user’s profile sidebar, you will see a “Listed” number next to their followers and following. Below those numbers on the sidebar, if the user has created any public lists, these will show up under the Lists heading.
Click on the Listed number to see the public lists that the user has been added to, and also the public lists that the user is following. If you click on a particular list, you will see the recent Tweets made by anyone the list is following. You can follow the list by clicking on the “Follow This List” button.
Pros and Cons of Twitter Lists
PRO: Twitter lists allow you to follow a personalized selection of Twitter members on particular topics. You could follow public lists about any topic without the use of other Twitter tools and software. And if a list on the topic you are interested in doesn’t exist, you can easily create your own customized list.
CON: Twitter members may notice a drop in following because they could being followed in lists, but not directly. For example, you could easily follow the tweets of the 20 top Twitter authorities on SEO in a list without actually following those 20 users. Some will consider this a major plus as it would help in the ratio of following to followers.
PRO: With Twitter lists, you get to learn why people are following you for by seeing where you have been listed. For example, people are adding @kikolani to lists on SEO, social media, blogging, WordPress, web development, dofollow and more.
CON: Some members with a high follower count who haven’t been listed could get discouraged by the fact that they have not been listed very often, or they have been listed in topics they are not focusing on.
PRO: Not being listed could prove to be a learning experience that you need to change the way you use Twitter to become more of an authority on your topic.
PRO: You can use Twitter lists to find the top authorities on a subject by looking at lists created or followed by power Twitter users.
PRO / CON: People could start going directly to their lists and not their main Twitter feed, thus missing any tweets from people they are following who haven’t been listed. While it is a great way to avoid spammers in your Twitter feed, it is also a way to miss some great tweets by people who aren’t in one of your lists.
Your Thoughts on Twitter Lists
Have you tried the Twitter List feature? What are your thoughts on the benefits vs. the downsides?
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This post brought to you by Kristi Hines
Kristi Hines is creator of Kikolani which focuses on blogging tips and social networking. Connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
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{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey thanks for the info. I have been dreading getting into the nuts and bolts of the whole list thing. With five different accounts and tens of thousands of followers I had a big dark cloud over the whole thing.
This write has inspired me to go ahead and start working with them. Thank you for the excellent write up.
Chris´s last blog ..Integrate Wordpress Into Existing Site Tutorial
This is very helpful. I am not on Twitter that much but when I am, I certainly don’t want to miss my tweets.
BunnygotBlog´s last blog ..12 On Blogging: Katie Clemons, “Making This Home”
I have seen this phenomenon developing and I haven’t really understood what to make of it. I am still not sure if I have formed an opinion, but my understanding of a potential value has markedly improved.
A. Zuck´s last blog ..Head Hunter
I haven’t worked with Twitter lists yet – thanks for the info! It doesn’t look like the cons outweigh the pros, but I think my major problem with Twitter recently has been that it’s Twitter: finding the audience I need there proved to be quite a challenge, one that I’m not really up to.
ashok´s last blog ..Briefly Noted: Plato’s “Menexenus”
This is a great post, I had seen the list feature but have not played with it. This give some great advice to get going quickly. Thanks for the info.
Damang Media Group´s last blog ..Google Chrome, Simple, Easy Fun. Who is using it?
Thank you Kristi for the nice helpful guide, I have created my Twitter first list for Famous Bloggers, but didn’t have time to add oo much users to it yet, I will be doing this on the first chance!
Hesham´s last blog ..How to Move from Bloggers Blog to Wordpress Self Hosted Blog in less than 3 Minutes?
A great tutorial on how to use the Twitter Lists effectively. I think your clear break down is very useful for twitter users who are not as tech-savvy and need the explanations. Also, you pros and cons gave me some ideas to how to use the lists for better promotion!
Seth W´s last blog ..Five Points to a Successful Blogging Event
Hm, I hadn’t noticed the Lists feature. It looks like it certainly has a lot of Pros, but the Cons you mentioned are definitely valid too. Still, I have a feeling this is going to become a very popular feature. -Jason
I have created 4 twitter lists over the course of the last few days. One is a public list and I’m watching it quite closely. It’s far too early to tell if these lists will prove to be useful to me or not.
timethief´s last blog ..Google PageRank removed from WebMasters Accounts
I personally have not tried twitter list before but by the looks of it, it’s amazing.
Awesome guide here. Really helpful to those who want to start using TwitterList but don’t know how it works
Thanks again!
Zack | MakeaPost.co.uk´s last blog ..Best business ideas: Penny Power on blogging basics
I’ve been contemplating using the new features since they popped up on my twitter page. I’ve been to lazy to read what its all about so a big thanks for educating us
I really like the fact that you can figure out why some people decided to follow you, its helpful to see what people see as useful.
Alan @ Glass Pipes´s last blog ..CS just died…
Great info on the twitter lists. This will help more tweeters understand how it works.
Twitter list is one of the best thing that Twitter did.
Roseli A. Bakar´s last blog ..List of Wordpress Thesis Theme Tutorials, Tips and Hacks
Twitter Lists is a huge leap for the Twitter web interface but it would be nice to see Twitter clients out there like TweetDeck and Seesmic “sync” their existing group features with the list.
Wayne Liew´s last blog ..Weekly Biz Buzz #6 Become an Expert, Green Business Tips and Leads from Speaking
You’ve listed well on the pros and cons. I agree the fact that convenience sometimes will bring some other negative effects; there’s no perfect ending in every release. ^^ However, if looking at the bright side (PROs), I’m glad Twitter has finally allow a basic feature — grouping to be installed for everyone to use (if not now, soon). Stumbled!
@wchingya
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Ching Ya´s last blog ..Seesmic Desktop Is Ahead of the Game with Twitter Lists Integration
really… oh I should have to check my twitter.. It’s been a while I did not open my twitter account and see some updates. perhaps I didn’t use it always.
Thanks Kristi, I haven’t taken the time to look into how to use the new Twitter Lists. You saved me a ton of time
Brian D. Hawkins´s last blog ..Interview With Toilets.com Founder Earl Braxton – The Don of Porta John®
wow nice post Kristi i book mark it i already in twitter but now get more benefit from twitter now i read your post and try to implement it thanks for sharing…
Thanks, I was wondering how to use these
– and i seriously see the need for them considering all the spam popping up there now.
Marc´s last blog ..Austin Criminal Attorney- Kris Davis-Jones
Although it adds a very interesting semantic layer over the regular Twitter, lists are going to be gamed the same way followers were in the beginning. It won’t be uncommon to see a guy with 10 followers but present in 100 lists, for instance. A new ego booster.
From a functionality perspective, this is a major breakthrough. It transforms Twitter from a single dimension space into a virtually unlimited dimension space. You can now broadcast not only your tweets, but your own micro-twitters (your lists) which makes you even more present in the virtual space.
yaa great post on twitter very help full, i also read this update on twitter new feature of twitter and implement it thanks Kristi for making good help full post for us!!
SEO Company´s last blog ..Zimbra Email Hosting : Integrates Latest Technologies
wow nice post Kristi i book mark it i already in twitter but now get more benefit from twitter now i read your post and try to implement it thanks for sharing…
I think Twitter had to do something to bring some order into the world of tweets. Since so many newcomers in recent month have changed the way Twitter functions, this is by no means a surprise. I hope it works wel, some won’t like it.
A plus all around as I see it. In regards to missing great tweets from those not in your list….why are they not in your list?
Awesome tutorial btw, I’ll be referencing it when I rejoin the Twitter ranks.
Dennis Edell´s last blog ..Only 4 Ad Spots Left – Meet The First Advertiser! And The Pot Just Got Sweeter.
I have not yet tried building a list. However, following people without following seems a great way to balance the followers:followed ratio.
Mr. I´s last blog ..Tutorial: Install WordPress In Fewer Than 5 Minutes
I just noticed the new lists function in Twitter, and was wondering how to get it working. Thanks so much Kristi for yet another useful tutorial!
By the way, we haven’t connected much of late – I hope you are doing awesome with Jason and the cats!
Celestine Chua´s last blog ..Update: Upcoming Book, Talkshow and Latest Media Coverage in Radio 938 LIVE, Today and Lianhe Wanbao
I hadn’t had any time to play in twitter lately and certainly hadn’t with the lists yet. THanks for the this summary, I’ll be sure to check em out soon.
Mike King´s last blog ..The Power of a Plan
It’s a handy feature but not something that I’ve gone and done much with. I have a couple of lists on TweetDeck for my own use. I guess I like the vanity of being on a few lists and it also lets you see who people consider your ‘Twitter Colleagues’ to be!
Twitter has always been a good source of traffic for me. This new feature will definitely help us. I look at the positive aspects of the feature and I guess it is working for me.
Ricky @blogging tips´s last blog ..Remove Ikee iPhone Worm Easily[How-to]
I have been working with twitter for a while and have to admit results haven’t been much to write home about, the new list feature sounds interesting and thanks for the insights. I haven’t put any together yet but do see the potential in it. Will have to get started soon.
SEO wizz´s last blog ..Why Is SEO Always Free?
Nice post. this is nice twitter feature, i will use this thanks for sharing this post krishti
Hyderabad SEO´s last blog ..How Google Works
I have been working with twitter for a while and have to admit results haven’t been much to write home about, the new list feature sounds interesting and thanks for the insights.
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